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1899.) MARINE REVIEW. 13 verse. Her conduct was inexcusable. The lesson that steam vessels must stop their engines in the presence of danger, or even of anticipated danger, is a hard one to learn, 'but the failure to do so has been the cause of the condemnation of so many vessels that it would seem that these repeated admonitions must ultimately have some effect. We cannot impress upon the masters of steam vessels too insistently the necessity of caution in passing or crossing the course of other vessels in constricted channels. "But, assuming the theory of the New York to be true, and that as the preferred vessel she was bound to keep her course, under rule nineteen, the fulfillment of her duty in that regard undoubtedly added to the embarrassments of the Conemaugh. It is averred in her answer that after making the white light of the Conemaugh she continued on her course so as to go around close to the last barge, and when abreast oi her quarter starboarded, so as to go close under her stern. For this change in her course she relies upon the case of the John L. Hasbrouck (93 U. S. 405,) in which we held that the obligation of a privileged vessel to keep her course does not forbid such necessary variations in her course as will enable her to avoid immediate danger arising from natural obstructions to navigation. In that case a sailing vessel descending the Wudson river at West Point was held to have been excused in changing her course to round a projection at that place, but in this case the New York had still from 500 to 800 feet before her before reaching the Cana- Jian bank. Her original porting was undoubtedly to avoid the tow, but there seems to have been no immediate necessity for her starboarding to pass so close to the rear barges, though we should not condemn her upon this ground. See discussion) of this in the Velocity (L. R. 3 P. C. 44); the Banshee (6 Asp. M. L. C. 221). While the presence of the tow un- FROM THE CAPTAIN OF THE PARKS FOSTER. _ Editor Marine Review:--Replying to the article in the Marine Re- view of Dec. 14 regarding the steamer Parks Foster and the steamer Pratt and consort Athens: The article is erroneous in four particulars. Iirst, the Parks Foster -was not at anchor at the time the Pratt and Athens passed her. She had been at anchor, but had gotten under way and had regulation signal lights burning, and ought not to have been mistaken for a steamer at anchor. Second, the Pratt and Athens passed the Foster. The Foster did not pass nor attempt to pass the Pratt and Athens. Third, the Parks Foster went over out of the dredged channel init natural water of Little Mud lake and stopped and gave them (the tow} the entire channed in which to pass. Fourth, there was no damage done while these vessels were passing the Parks Foster. The Parks Foster did not blow a one-blast signal to the Pratt on that date in Little Mud lake; therefore the Pratt had no opportunity to reply with a check or danger signal. E. J. BURKE, Cleveland, Dec. 23, 1899. Master Steamer Parks Foster. NEW TYPE OF DERRICK. There is presented herewith the first illustration of a novel type of crane iust installed at the ship yard of the Maryland Steel Co., Sparrow's Point, Md. This device has long since passed the experimental stage. Thorough tests have proven its practicability as a saver of time and ex- pense. The plan of operation, to put the idea in a nutshell, is to raise the ship plates from the ground to the exact position desired on the side of the vessei, instead of lowering them from above as it done at Newport News, at the works of the Cramps and at other ship yards where traveling NEW TYPE OF DERRIOK FOR HANDLING SHIP BUILDING MATERIAL AT THE WORKS OF THE MARYLAND STEEL CO., SPARROW'S POINT, MD. doubtedly rendered it necessary for the New York to port, and thus to become a crossing vessel, and a preferred vessel under rule nineteen, there was no obstruction to her continuing under her port wheel until she had approached so near the Canadian bank as to make it necessary to turn. "The theory of the New York is an inconsistent one--as inconsistent as that of Conemaugh. She argues that she was under no obligation to assent to the signals of the Conemaugh by starboarding her helm. But she did in fact starboard her helm, and now insists that she did this in discharge of her duty as a preferred vessel to resume her course after she had cleared the obstruction. But without deciding that she was in farlt for starboarding, her conduct in so doing adds another to the many reasons why she should have indicated to the descending steamer her proposed course. If the Conemaugh recognized the fact that she were the preferred vessel and bound to hold her course, it would naturally confuse her to see the New York suddenly starboarding, exhibit both her colored lights, and point directly toward her, as she must have done. The probable explanation of the course of the New York is that the 'officer of her deck was so intent upon watching the lights of the barges that he omitted to notice the lights of the Conemaugh until the vessels had approached so near that a collision became extremely probable. The fact that her lights were seen and her signals heard by the crews of the Burlington and her barges and by persons standing upon the coal dock. at a greater distance from the Conemaugh than was the New York, only indicates more clearly that her lookout was either insufficient or incom- petent. If he actually saw her and reported her to the officers of the deck, the responsibility is only shifted from the lookout to them." A crew of one hundred seamen of the American navy will be sent to England to bring over the new cruiser Albany, recently completed at the Elswick yard, = e cantilevers propelled by electricity or steam are employed. The "locomo- tive derrick,"' which is the most prominent feature of the new apparatus, was desigtied and built at the Maryland Steel Co.'s works, and its develop- ment is due chiefly to the ingenuity of Manager Wilson of the marine de- partment and Engineer'H. A. Magoun. Ass regards its operation on standard gauge track, the derrick corresponds to the regulation type of iocomotive crane, utilized in all ship yards for the handling of material, but instead cf being mounted on the ordinary type of flat car, the appara- tus in this case is operated from a steel derrick, which permits of a load of ten tons or even more being raised to a height of from 60 to 75 feet. The plan of the Maryland company officials is to install one of these derricks between each pair of ways in the ship yard, just as is done with the canti- levers. The hoisting apparatus for this device was furnished by the Lid- zerwood Manufacturing Co. of New York city. Henry H. Febel of New York city has patented an invention where- by, it is claimed, a pair of propeller shafts may be driven at high speed irom a single driving shaft traveling at a lower speed, all being mounted in the same horizontal plane, the propeller shafts being mounted diver- gently to admit of the use of extra large screws. The essential features of the mechanism are a driving shaft carrying on its end a heavy disk, the slightly conical surface of which is provided with a series of radial grooves, arranged like the spikes of a wheel. The two shafts carrying the propeller screws are connected with this disk by two carriers, one on each side of the centre of the disk, the outer ends of the shaft being thrown apart. These carriers are close to the disk and the rollers on which they are mounted stand within and are actuated by the slots or grooves in it. It is claimed that by this arrangement a motion is im- parted to the carriers in the same direction, but at twice the speed of the driving shaft, which may be actuated by any suitable power, such as a gas, electric or steam engine.